SNOW HILL — When Greene County officials opted to provide an alternative water source through Greene Utilities Commission a few years back, it was clear there would be a number of changes to be made in treating the public drinking water. One of them would be an increased workload for water treatment employees.

The county’s decision required switching from using chlorine to treat the water to an ammonia system, which produces chloramines. But the state-required testing must not only be done 365 days a year, but takes all day versus half a day, Public Works Director David Jones said.

“There’s not enough time in an eight-hour day to do the things we need to do,” he said.

The result is longer hours and the accumulation of overtime for three employees. And with the next phase of alternative water construction recently approved, two more booster stations are expected to be built within the next year and a half — adding additional testing hours, Jones said.

“It’s more than doubled our time to check these water samples,” he said.

Currently, there are 10 wells and three booster stations spread out around the county.

Jones said his department didn’t realize just how much extra work would evolve from using ammonia instead of chlorine.

“We do enough to stay in compliance,” he said, “but we need to do more than that.”

An additional problem is how corrosive chloramines are to the system, he said, and there are more frequent repairs, which need to be made immediately.

The department has three full-time water treatment operators, but one of them also takes care of distribution and billing. Jones asked county commissioners Monday night for a part-time and one more full-time employee.

“(The employees) are running overtime hours,” he said, “and I’ve got people taking paperwork home to get it done.”

Jones also asked the board for wage compensation for his employees who have upgraded their training and received additional certification. The board tabled the matter to consider their options.

Commissioner Bennie Heath said he wasn’t surprised by Jones’ requests, as he was aware of the issues with the water treatment conversion.

“It’s a very serious situation,” he said. “I’d like to give it more thought before I make a statement.”

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.